


You're My Everything

by Moose_likes_the_gay



Category: Dan Vs.
Genre: Crying, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-10 22:05:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16463201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moose_likes_the_gay/pseuds/Moose_likes_the_gay





	You're My Everything

Dan shot up, his mind racing. He tried to piece together what was lingering of his nightmare. He he glanced around his room, panicked. Why was he so panicked? What happened? He was frozen for a short while before it all clicked together.

_No._

_No, it wasn't real._

_At least, not this time._

He tried to convince himself that it had all been in his head. And it was. At least, it was _this time._ He sighed. He'd hoped he was over this. He already lived it, why couldn't he escape? It was pointless, watching the same horrible memories flash through his head as he slept. He didn't need it. He already knew what happened, why would he need a reminder?

He looked around his room. He didn't want to be here. He needed to go somewhere else. _Anywhere else._

It wasn't like he had much of a choice other than Chris' house. He just had to be careful. As long as he acted normal, Chris wouldn't ask any questions. Maybe a "What are you doing here, Dan?", but otherwise, he would be fine.

He stumbled out of bed, grabbing Brutus from his underneath the sheets. He would likely just leave him in the car, but he supposed it wouldn't hurt to bring him. _Just in case._

Mr. Mumbles followed behind him, meowing concernedly.

"I'm fine." He responded tiredly. She fell silent. Dan knew she didn't believe him.

He reached his car, hand shaking slightly as he unlocked the door. Mr. Mumbles jumped up, pouncing into the passenger seat. He slid into his seat, carefully placing Brutus in the passenger seat next to Mr. Mumbles. 

Dan drove silently, occasionally glancing over to the passenger seat, where Mr. Mumbles was sleeping against Brutus.

He pulled into Chris' driveway, hesitant to get out. _Why was he doing this? He was fine._

He exhaled sharply. _Fuck it._ He grabbed his copy of Chris' house key from the glove box.

He stepped out, allowing Mr. Mumbles to jump out as well. He paused for a moment, before going to grab Brutus. _Just in case._

His hands trembled as he unlocked the front door. He stepped in, evening out his breathing. 

_Normal. Act normal._ He told himself. He didn't need Chris asking any questions. He quietly closed the door behind him. Mr. Mumbles scampered to the couch, waiting for Dan to join her. Dan yawned, turning the TV on before joining her on the couch. He felt his eyelids slowly growing heavy.

○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●

He wasn't sure how long he had fallen asleep. He didn't really care either. His breathing was ragged and panicked. 

Another nightmare.

This one had been worse, more vivid than the last. He brought his hand to his left wrist, certain that he could feel it starting to bruise. He felt his eyes burning. He released his grip on his wrist, moving his hand to his cheek.

Fuck, he was _crying._

_Actually crying._

He couldn't remember the last time he cried. His breath hitched. Mr. Mumbles curled up at his side. He smiled weakly, pulling his knees to his chest, holding Brutus tight against one side, and petting Mr. Mumbles at the other as he evened out his breathing. He pulled his hand away from her, wiping his cheeks dry. She gave him another concerned meow, nuzzling her head against his leg. 

"I"m fine." He said, more so trying to convince himself than her.

Dan exhaled sharply, grabbing his phone from the arm of the couch.

_2:36 a.m._

He groaned and began trudging towards the kitchen. Mr. Mumbles strolled behind him.

He scavenged through the fridge, pulling out a package of turkey. He smiled down at Mr. Mumbles.

"Look! Un-expired turkey!"

She meowed happily, jumping up to grab a piece from Dan's hand.

"What're you doing?" Slurred a voice from behind him. Dan jumped, dropping the meat to the floor. He bit his lip, holding back the string of apologies only trying to escape his lips due to old memories being fresh on his mind.

He turned around to face Chris.

"What? Is your _best friend_ not welcome here?"

"I prefer you to tell me beforehand."

"Well, we can't always get what we want, can we?"

Chris sighed, trudging behind Dan as he returned to the living room.

"Why are you actually here?"

"Couldn't sleep." He stated simply.

"Hmm," Chris hummed thoughtfully. "Any idea why?"

"Ugh, I don't know! What's with all the questions?" He was getting irritated.

"Just trying to help."

"I don't need your help." He muttered.

Chris huffed defeatedly, plopping down on the couch beside Dan. They remained silent. Soon enough, Dan found himself unable to keep conscious.

Another nightmare, or perhaps the same one. He wasn't sure. He couldn't even out his breathing like before, and new tears fell to stain his cheeks. 

"Dan?"

_Shit._

Chris moved closer to him, panicked.

"Dan? C'mon, buddy, it's okay. You're okay."

Dan focused on Chris' voice, not really taking in the words, simply his cadence. He managed to calm down.

Chris placed his hands on Dan's shoulders, earning a slight wince from him.

"Nightmare?" Chris asked simply.

Dan nodded silently, his head tilted down.

"About?"

Dan knew he wasn't going to be able to lie to Chris about this. What was the point? He was already crying in front of him, it wasn't like he had much dignity left to spare

Dan gulped. "Mom..." was all he could manage, but Chris understood.

He remembered the night he found out.

He had gotten used to seeing Dan covered in bruises and scratches. When he would ask about them, he would get an answer like "I fell off my roof... again." or "The neighbors dog attacked me. It's fine. I have a plan." He didn't question it for a long time. Dan just had that kind of luck. He constantly marched into dangerous situations, even as a kid. So why would Chris ever suspect he was lying?

Chris had been growing suspicious for some time now, though he hid his suspicions from Dan as well as he could. Sure, Dan was reckless, but as he began dragging Chris along for revenge schemes more often, he found that Dan rarely had similar injuries afterwards. He never said anything.

They were both fifteen, when he found out. 

Dan was outside his house, throwing pinecones at his window to get his attention. He rushed over, opening the window before his parents could notice. Dan quickly grabbed the ladder he had propped against the wall and soon was face to face with Chris on his roof.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm staying here."

"Wha- Dan!" Dan crawled in through Chris' window, tumbling onto the floor.

"You can't just decide you want to stay here whenever you want!"

"Too late."

Chris sighed. He watched his friend settle onto his bed. Something was... off. Dan seemed paranoid. His eyes were darting around the room, and his legs were fidgeting.

"What's wrong?"

It was a common question from Chris.

"Nothing."

_Nothing_ was never an answer he got from Dan. He always had something to complain about, no matter how miniscule it was. _Nothing_ was not an acceptable answer.

Chris took a deep breath.

"You're lying."

"What?!"

"You're lying. You've been lying." He stepped towards Dan.

Dan looked down at himself, refusing to make eye contact with Chris.

"Shut up."

Chris sighed, scanning Dan. He rushed to his side, grabbing hold of his wrist. A dark purple bruise had formed there.

"This," Chris said firmly. "Who did this?"

"Me," He said flatly. "I was scaling my roof. The rope got tangled around my wrist."

"I don't believe you."

"Well, I don't care."

Chris grimaced. "Who did this?" He repeated, more aggressive this time.

"I already told you."

"You lied. Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

Chris exhaled sharply. "Tell me who keeps hurting you."

"No one."

Chris tightened his grip on Dan's wrist. "Tell me." He said firmly.

"No."

"Is it your dad?"

"No."

Chris gulped. "Mom?"

Dan froze. He bit his lip, holding back the trembling breath trying to escape him.

"Shut up." He croaked.

"Dan?"

Nothing. Just a blank stare. A single tear rolled silently down his cheek.

"Dan..."

He released his grip on Dan's wrist. Dan let go of the breath he had been holding in, and with it, everything else came crashing down.

Dan wrapped his arms around Chris, sobs wracking through him as he pressed his face against his chest. And for a moment, Chris was frozen. It was all sudden, all crashing down at once. After a moment, Chris wrapped his arms around the smaller one, rubbing circles into his back as he cried against him. It felt like hours had passed before Dan had grown silent, still pressed tightly against Chris.

"You will tell _no one_ about this."

"Of course, buddy. Of course."

And now, it felt like that was all happening again. Though, now, Chris at least knew Dan was safe. It was strange, with Dan, Chris went through phases. He cared about him, hated him, ignored him, wished he had never met him, fell in love with him, yet he always wanted to protect him.

He looked down at the smaller man, the man he wished to protect. He didn't expect Dan to make a move, so Chris took it upon himself.

He pulled Dan into his lap, wrapping him in a tight hug. Dan didn't have the strength to fight back, though his body remained tense.

"Unhand me, lummox!"

Chris didn't respond.

"Let go! I'll... I-I'll..."

He fell silent.

Over time, his shoulders relaxed, and he gave in, wrapping his arms around Chris.

It was still a moment before Chris heard a sound from him. First, another uneven breath, then a sob. He pressed his face against Chris chest.

"I know, I know." Chris mumbled soothingly.

It felt like an eternity had passed before Dan relaxed. The occasional soft sniffle or whimper still sounded, and Chris would be lying if he said he didn't find it absolutely adorable. 

Dan was still clinging to Chris, clutching the back of his shirt like he would lose him if he let go, like he was everything to him.

_He was._

"...Everything..." Was what Chris managed to hear as he listened to Dan mutter against his chest.

"What was that?"

"You're... everything."

Chris looked down at the smaller man, still confused.

"You're my everything." He said sleepily.

Chris smiled shyly. "Heh..."

He pressed a kiss against Dan's head.

"You're my everything too, buddy."


End file.
